Lyra Maltese ST JACOBS, ON

For anyone interested in adopting from Hobo Haven, here are a few, but not all, criteria to be aware of:
PLEASE DO NOT use the introduce yourself feature that Petfinder provides
That function is NOT an application

Please be sure to read the dog's entire profile before applying to ensure that your family is a good fit with the dog's specific criteria for their ideal forever home.

As stated in their profile, an adoption application must be completed and approved, references will be contacted, as well as a home visit, prior to meeting available dogs.
Only those approved for adoption will be scheduled to meet the dog.

Lyra is a female Maltese Terrier born March 20/17

She had her re-birthday into rescue when a commercial breeder retired her from their breeding program.

Lyra has now had her dental surgery, spay, vaccination updating and of course our full bloodwork and exam workup with our vet, while she settled into foster home life and learned how wonderful life indoors and loving humans can be.

She arrived very shy and nervous understandably, and will require a very patient family to understand that she needs to feel safe and will take time to bond.
With her trusted people her spunk and wagging tail is already showing through, and we know she will continue to blossom in her ideal forever home, which will include a suitable canine companion

Lyra ADORES men and would love a home with a male also involved as her primary caregiver, though of course she welcomes female caregivers with them and would love to have a home with another suitable canine companion.

Lyra's name inspiration: A constellation named after the musical instrument. This represents the lyre of Orpheus, whose music was so beautiful it charmed even trees and rocks. Lyra is charming us all !

Notes from Lyra's foster family:

Lyra is not quite a couch potato but she isn't a very high energy girl.
She does like a short walk or a fun romp around the yard and as her confidence and socialization continues, her adventures will continue to blossom in her forever home. She has enjoyed her short walks and is growing in confidence every day.

Lyra has learned to play recently so we are building on that with times of play with toys and the other dog friends that live here when she feels confident enough to participate.
Over the course of the day, we have many times that we use for training. Any opportunity that presents itself can be a training time.

IS YOUR FOSTER DOG FOOD MOTIVATED?
I would say that Lyra is food motivated. She loves her breakfast and dinner and we have found that she has a couple of treats that will bring her running.

GOOD WITH DOGS? So far Lyra has been good with any dog that she has met. She lives with other dog friends and there has never been a problem.
Lyra is also fostered with a cat and is respectful.

HOW DOES YOUR FOSTER DOG RESPOND TO PEOPLE MET ON WALKS?
She is somewhat shy so she doesn't really engage with others.

Lyra has met a good number of people in her foster home, male and female, over the time that she has been with us. She will bark at them to begin with, not aggressive, not fear but more surprise and it sounds like announcing their presence.
Once she has made it known that someone has come to visit, she is absolutely fine with them. She sees our granddaughters on a regular basis and has no issues with them; in fact she loves to be with them getting scratches and cuddles.

When Lyra views strangers from our house, she will bark. Ongoing training and confidence will benefit Lyra.

GOOD WITH CATS? YES

GUARDING ISSUES? We have never seen any guarding of anything with this little girl. We have not witnessed any aggressive behaviour in any way.

HOUSETRAINED? Yes
CRATE TRAINED? Yes

PLEASE ELABORATE ON YOUR FOSTER DOG'S BEHAVIOR IN THE CRATE. Because we are retired, one or both of us is at home most days but there are times when Lyra and the other dogs are left at home on their own. Lyra is always in her crate during those times. We have a camera on her and the others during those periods and so far we have not had an issue. The longest we have ever left her is about 3 hours, but that is not a regular thing.

IS YOUR FOSTER DOG DESTRUCTIVE? No

DOES YOUR FOSTER DOG SHOW SIGNS OF SEPARATION ANXIETY? No

OKAY WITH HANDLING? Yes, Lyra has come forward in leaps and bounds in her confidence since she has been with us but she is still somewhat timid. When you touch ears, tail, etc she is obviously uncomfortable but she tolerates it. She is not aggressive in her lack of comfort just not happy. She does come to us often for a good scruff on her head and loves to be scratched behind her ears.

PERSONALITY? Lyra is a goofy and funny little girl! Since she has learned how to play she is hilarious to watch. Her favourite toy is a ball right now, which she throws and chases and barks at. As she learns more about being a dog and how things are not scary, I'm sure she will just become sillier and sillier. She is very affectionate with us and loves to lie beside us on the couch

THINGS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT? This little girl is learning something new every day. There are obviously lots of things she still needs to learn, like how to walk well on a leash, (we will continue to work with that) and her confidence. But considering how timid she was when she came to live with us, she has come so incredibly far!

MEDICATION: Lyra requires thyroid medication for hypothyroidism, which is a common hormone imbalance in dogs which leads to diminished thyroid function and insufficient levels of thyroid hormones. This is easily managed with medication. She will have to remain on thyroid medication (inexpensive) for the rest of her life.

This does not impede her life in any way. She takes her medication (half of a very small pill) in the morning and in the evening and she is fine with that.

She also has mildly luxating patellas which is also common in her breed. This has been verified by her vet and it was not serious enough to require surgery.
This means that jumping on and off furniture is not a great thing for her and she would benefit from joint supplementation to support her joints.

FOODS TO AVOID AND WHY? Lyra only has 16 teeth, so chewing hard pieces of food or hard treats is not recommended. She is thriving on her Bold by Nature Raw diet.

FEEDING TIMES: Feeding times are important for Lyra because of her thyroid medication which must be twice daily.

Notes:
* MANDATORY Lyra requires another suitable canine friend in her forever home to help her with confidence and continuing to "learn how to dog".
*Not suitable to be left alone long hours/more than 4-5 hours
*Must be located within Ontario Canada
*Inground/ground level Pools and ponds must be separately fenced from yard
* Dog doors are not permitted

Hobo Haven is located in St Jacobs Ontario.
For approved families, we require in person meetings in St Jacobs ON
If you are not willing to drive to this location to meet our dogs after you are approved, please do not apply.
We do not meet elsewhere nor deliver dogs. Adoptions within Ontario only

If you are interested in applying to adopt a dog from Hobo Haven Rescue, please use this link to submit an application https://hobohavenrescue.ca/dog-adoption-application

Lyra's adoption fee is a minimum donation of $550, which has not even begun to cover her vetting and care costs while with our rescue.

Adoption fees include spay/neuter, microchip, vaccinations, deworming, flea/tick/heartworm prevention, dentals and all vet care, food and supplies during their time with us. This adoption fee does not at all cover all of our expenses

For anyone possibly interested in adopting from Hobo Haven, here are a few, but not all, criteria to be aware of:

We require all serious applicants to watched "Petfooled" which is a free documentary at this link https://tubitv.com/movies/494913/pet-fooled
, or on Amazon prime or also a variety of other free video sites.
Our motto is "know better/do better" and we ask all adoptive families to be as committed to providing our dogs with quality nutrition as they are to providing love. This documentary is not advertising, purely just educational.

An adoption application must be completed and approved, including vet references as well as a home visit (Zoom during COVID), prior to meeting available dogs.
All dogs are placed in loving foster homes during their time with us, we do not have a shelter to visit.
We do not allow applicants to visit until pre-approved for adoptions. Our dogs are in private foster family homes, not in a shelter.
Any questions may be emailed to hobohavenpetrescue@gmail.com

Due to the high volume of applications received for our dogs, priority of replies will be given to applicants who meet the criteria mentioned in the pet's profile.

Please do not ask us to make exceptions, we set these protocols and policies for the dog's best interests which are always our highest priority.

Emails are best, our volunteers work full time and are often not able to answer or return phone calls in a timely manner